Planer blade minimum width

[Mickey]

The SVH-320 planer blade attachment instructions state the minimum blade width is 13mm or a hair over 1/2 inch. Is there any workaround for that to accommodate a 7/16ths inch wide blade, or is the 1/2 inch minimum a hard stop to keep the lower edge of the grinding jig support slightly off the wheel?

Thank you.

Mickey

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, Mickey.

I would suggest you try sharpening one of your blades. You don't have much blade left for the jig to grab, however, it might work. Unlike a high speed dry grinder, the 90 RPM Tormek will not throw a blade across the room. Be advised, however, that I do not think your success odds are very good with this thin of a blade.

Some planer blades are really not meant to be sharpened. The "lunch box" portable planer blades are really designed to be replaced, like razor blades. (I learned this after purchasing the planer jig. However, it still works for my jointer blades.)

If you have a lunch box planer, I would think twice about purchasing the SVH-320.

Ken

[RickKrung]

I do not have the planer blade jig yet, so cannot speak with any surety, but...  I am willing to speculate.  In order to mount your narrow blades (7/16"), you will need some sort of spacers, probably upwards of 1/8" to get the projection you need beyond the front of the jig base.  You'll have to get the blades stuck out far enough to clear the under side of the jig base.  You will have to be careful about how much blade is supported, both behind and in front of the clamp, but I think is should work. 

I don't know about your blades, but the ones for my "lunch box" are also the "disposable" type, and are dual sided, so two edges usable before tossing or sharpening.  They cost only $50 and a second set came with my planer, so at $200 for the jig, I can buy four more sets (total of ten edges) before ever needing to bite that bullet and at my rate of usage, that could be years.  That isn't to say that I won't try

One comment/recommendation, from a professional woodworker friend who uses one in his shop, about the DeWalt planner I have, which I think probably applies to most, is to take very light, multipe cuts.  It doesn't do well trying to take too heavy of cuts.  He said the DW can produce beautifully smooth finishes, more so than his two heavy duty, floor model "old iron" planers. 

Rick

[Ken S]

Very informative post, Rick.

Your comment about comparing the lunchbox planers with the old iron style reminds me of comparing my router table with the drill press shaper attachment I inherited from my grandfather. The small shaper carbon steel cutters mounted directly in the drill press chuck. A router produces at least eight times the RPM, and the cutters are generally carbide. Factor in the much reduced sanding time from the high RPM, and the extra time for a few more passes seems a non issue.

Hand planes work the same way. Jack or roughing planes remove a lot more wood quickly due to the blades being set for deeper cuts. Smooth planes, with a cutting depth near .001", are more pedestrian, but, as the name implies, are much smoother.

For those of us still trying to rationalize the expense of a planer jig, remember that the planer jig also sharpens jointer blades AND the guillotine style blades from Lion trimmers. These marvelous machines were once part of a trim carpenter's kit and are still used by picture framers. As I recall, I paid thirty five dollars US twenty years ago to have my set of two sharpened. (one blade for each direction). At the time, the cost seemed reasonable for such a quality sharpening job. Pristine miter joints are the hallmark of a sharp Lion trimmer.

Ken

[RickKrung]

...snip...
For those of us still trying to rationalize the expense of a planer jig, remember that the planer jig also sharpens jointer blades AND the guillotine style blades from Lion trimmers. These marvelous machines were once part of a trim carpenter's kit and are still used by picture framers. As I recall, I paid thirty five dollars US twenty years ago to have my set of two sharpened. (one blade for each direction). At the time, the cost seemed reasonable for such a quality sharpening job. Pristine miter joints are the hallmark of a sharp Lion trimmer.

Ken

In the mid-50s, my father started a "hobby shop", which began in our garage with "Thermic" brand basla and paper-doped wing construction airplane kits, free-flight, etc.  Sometime thereafter, to supplement the shop income, he purchased a picture framing business.  As a result, he put me to work making picture frames.  I recall using a miter chop cutter, but have no memory of the brand.  It was really only useful for smaller sizes of frame stock, so we used a radial arm saw for the larger stuff (I think there was no such thing then as what we know now as miter saws). The miter chop tool did work nicely.   

Rick